


How it Could Have Gone

by wickedradical



Category: Hiveswap
Genre: Angst and Humor, Other, POV Second Person, now with art!!, reader is awkward but what else is new, really a confusing mix of both but whatever, references to other friendsim routes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-05-16 13:53:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14812608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedradical/pseuds/wickedradical
Summary: Instead of ditching Skylla like a huge asshole, you manage to wheedle her into a rescue mission.A rescue mission to get her big slobbering space dog-mom back from a bunch of murderous lusus thieves who you're sure wouldn't have much of a problem blowing your brains out.Oh, the things you do for friendship...





	1. You Fool, You've Just Activated My Guilt Card!

**Author's Note:**

> hi im here to fix skylla's bad ending
> 
> let the cowgirl be happy!!!!!
> 
> also the title is based on a track from hiveswap bc im big nerd

_“I don’t think a friendship between us would ever really work out…”_

As soon as the words left her lips, your heart sank. Well, it had already sunk about as low as her attitude and energy had, but had gone even deeper than that somehow. You wanted to break down and cry right there, but that would just be selfish. After all, you weren’t the one who’d lost a pet. Parent? God, trolls were so weird.

Huffing a large, weary sigh, Skylla stiffly lifted a gloved hand to point you in the direction of a nearby city. “It’s night now so it’s safe to walk outside, you can go there.” You could almost hear her say ‘ _I just can’t stand to see your face anymore._ ’ “You just…remind me too much of losing Lady.” ‘ _And it’s all your fault that I lost her too,_ ’ you were sure she was thinking. You were such an awful person.

Well, were you really _that_ bad? Taking a rather quick moment to reflect on it (she was giving you _that_ look that meant you needed to leave and leave _soon_ ), you came to the conclusion that you most definitely _were_ that bad. If you hadn’t held her back, she might have been able to save her lusus..

She would probably get horribly burnt of course, but you had the feeling that Skylla would rather try and risk her life than just stand there helplessly. You on the other hand would _definitely_ just stand there helplessly and try not to get killed, which is pretty much what you did after her lusus got stolen anyway.

Was it bad to be a little relieved that she’d reacted in sadness instead of anger? You doubt you would be able to put up much of a fight against her, as it was quite a struggle to even hold her back from running out into the scorching heat. At the very least, you settled on the fact that you kept her from getting hurt too terribly (and ignored the fact that this _was_ at the expense of her lusus).

Still, she obviously wasn’t too impressed your kindness, even if she had thanked you for thinking of her safety. As empty as the gratitude seemed, you admired her for even bothering with it at all. There were quite a few trolls you could name who wouldn’t be quite so kind.

You noticed Skylla begin to frown, expression at first one of slight annoyance before you looked into her golden eyes and saw the absolute despondency within. Her makeup was smudged, most likely from crying, and for some reason that detail really got to you. As upset as you had been before, you were suddenly filled with a sudden sense of purpose. You were going to mend your friendship, even if you were to die trying. You just couldn’t stand to leave her, knowing that you were the cause of her sudden despair.

Clenching your fists, you began to speak.

“Aren’t you going to leave-“ she began, simultaneously being interrupted by you.

“Skylla!” You took a moment to steel yourself, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I know that you’re upset.”

She let out a weak laugh, one filled more with weariness than any real humor or sincerity. “Was it really that easy to tell?” Her shoulders shook slightly—whether from the fake laugh or the fact that she was on the verge of tears you couldn’t tell.

You began to feel bad for calling her out on her emotions, as obvious as they were. She _had_ been hiding her face while crying before, most likely because she didn’t want to show such a vulnerable side of herself. And you, the ever oblivious idiot, had blundered right through such an obvious insecurity of hers. _Smooth going._

“…Anyway.” You coughed, forcing your metaphorical train of thought from the metaphorical ground back onto the metaphorical rails. “You know I stopped you earlier because it was so hot out? I mean, I almost died on the way to your house. Hive. Whatever.”

“Yes..” She fixed you with a scrutinizing look, more curious than annoyed but obviously waiting for you to continue. Either that or she was wondering what on Earth- Alternia. What on _Alternia_ …a house was.

 _Yeah_ , you reprimanded yourself. _Duh, of course she knows about the heat. She probably deals with it all the time, she lives in it after all. And it’s kinda hard to forget the reasoning, however flimsy, that lost her the most valuable person (animal? parental figure?) in her life._

“Well it’s night now! So-”

“Impossible.” She fixed you with a disappointed look, hands on her (rather shapely) hips. “Ya said it yerself, fightin against those thangs will straight up lead us to buy the farm. And lord knows I can’t afford another farm,” Skylla mumbled crossly, clarifying that she didn’t mean it literally.

You deflated, startled and honestly a little scared by her harsh rebuttal. “Are you sure? I mean..” _Time to pull out the guilt card._ “What’s the use of having a ranch without all the animals on it? Especially your…” _What was the word?_ “Especially your lulus.”

“ _Lusus_ ,” She corrected, letting out a bitter chuckle at your blunder before sighing, shoulders drooping in acquiescence. You weren’t sure if she was genuinely trying to appear humored or not, but you wished she would stop—it was just too depressing. “I guess you’re right.”

You couldn’t help but perk up, brows raised in obvious surprise. You didn’t expect that dirty tactic to actually _work_.

“Don’t go gettin’ your hopes right up too soon,” Skylla raised a finger in admonition, lips twitching in an almost-smile at your excitement. “You’re not off the hook just yet, I need your help packing.”

_Ugh, packing. If there was anything you loathed in the world, it was definitely packing. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if everything you needed was already there?_

Your disappointment must have been visible, because you heard her let out a short snicker. “What, you have your mind set on leavin’ right this minute or somethin’?”

You looked away, not wanting to answer her question. _Yes._ Barely a few hours, and she knew you to a T already.

That got an actual laugh out of her. “Ah, shoulda known.” She shook her head, stepping forward to give you a pat on the shoulder. “Come on,” you felt her hand slide a little down your back, giving you a soft push in the direction of her hive. “Let’s go before the sun starts coming back up.”

You couldn’t agree with her sentiment more, walking back across the field with a slight spring in your step. If Skylla noticed, she didn’t say anything. However, she’d started smiling again… So even if it _was_ at your expense, you were more than happy to let it slide.


	2. What Is This, An Anime?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> contains copious amounts of slime and stupidity
> 
> (if you didnt notice i added some art to the first chapter so check it out! im workin on the art for this chapter and ill try to have it done soon but i didnt wanna keep yall waitin too long)

You rolled over to one side, trying to get comfortable but to no avail. As far as you’d gone trying to redeem yourself to Skylla, you still got relegated to the status of sleeping on the hard wooden floor. _Geez, what kind of wood was this hard anyway? This planet was truly one of a kind._

You’d been awake for hours, trying not to make too much noise tossing around. You wouldn’t want to wake Skylla—you were already on iffy terms and she’d had a long day that even a year of sleep couldn’t fix. Still, you’d hush up and let her sleep so you could give her what little relaxation she could get in her current circumstances.

Well, that and you really weren’t looking too forward to packing. You’d let her have that year of sleep if you could put off the rescue, even though _you_ had been the one to suggest it. Getting into a tangle with those nasty trolls didn’t sound too appealing.

What _really_ sounded appealing was actually getting those pancakes you’d been offered the previous day. Sadly, you’d been so shaken by the burglary that you couldn’t even look at the plate without a wave of nausea and guilt sweeping over you. The food had been cold by the time you actually sat down to eat anyway.

You let out a groan as your stomach growled. Thinking about food, especially _appealing_ , human-like food (unlike a certain hotdog that sprang to mind—god, now the delicious sausages would be forever ruined by that encounter) had seemed to set off your body. Figuring you couldn’t delay it any further, you heaved yourself up to your feet with a grunt, wincing as the motion set your ribs to burning.

Getting on tiptoe to peek into Skylla’s weird bed-bath thing(she’d called it a ‘coop, you think), you noticed that her face had drifted under the surface of the weird green goo it was filled with. A jolt of fear ran through you, and you heaved yourself into the tub without a thought for your clothes. In retrospect, that wasn’t the best idea, but you really didn’t want a repeat of what happened to that poor freckled troll.

_You couldn’t let another troll die at your hands._

The ‘coop was a lot bigger that it appeared to be, but maybe you were just short. Well, compared to Skylla, of course you were short. So _naturally_ she’d need a ridiculously oversized slime jacuzzi to sleep in. _What a planet._

You groped blindly for something to grab onto, frowning when you grabbed something soft. You were just…going to ignore that. Pulling her feet would probably be a safer bet, if you’d learned anything from all the ecchi anime you’d seen(for the plot, of course). They were sticking out, at least. Dragged down by your soon over-saturated clothes, it took quite the muscle to yank Skylla up to even the point that only her knees were visible.

Why did she have to be so tall? Why did she have to be so heavy?

_Why did she have to sleep in this weird thing???_

Managing to hook her feet over the side, you hopped out, hoping that you could get better leverage outside.

_You really hoped you wouldn’t be hauling out a corpse._

Your heart beat faster and faster the more you pulled at her legs, trying to pace yourself and ignore the nagging worry that you’d been just moments too late in noticing the danger she was in. How long had she been submerged anyway? Did this happen often?

Then it hit you like a ton of bricks— _Lady must be the one who’d have saved her if this had ever happened before._ But that terrifying alien collie was nowhere to be seen, and if you had any hope of seeing her again, it lied in Skylla’s strength. _But what was the point in saving Lady if Skylla wasn’t alive?_ You tried to ignore that thought, which wasn’t pretty hard taking into account the considerable pain in your ribs. At least that weird painter girl had healed your arm(you’d overlooked the psychological scarring the near murder attempt had given you in favor of blatantly ignoring that it had ever happened at all).

 _Less thinking and more yanking!_ you tell yourself, bracing your feet against the weird organic side of her tub-bed before kicking off with all your strength. You really had nothing to lose at this point.

And to your surprise, it actually worked! With an unappealing wet _pop!_ sound Skylla is safe and sound from her cocoon. Provided she is still alive, naturally.

It takes a moment to unfold her lithe body into a natural, supine position. It really doesn’t help that your movements are hindered not only by exhaustion, but by the weight of all the slime your clothes had absorbed as well. You consider shucking them off—after all you wouldn’t be the only one in the nude in this house.

 _Oh._ You’d forgotten that she was naked. Or maybe you were just too busy trying to get comfy on her harsh, unforgiving floor? Whatever the reason, you feel your face flush several shades darker. The only thing that distracts you from some...rather unsavory(or _savory_ really would be more accurate, really) thoughts is a noise that sounds like a dog vomiting.

Whipping your head up to face the source, you find you weren’t too far off in your assumption. Dog puking, troll raised by a dog puking, pretty much the same thing. You take a moment to lament how normal these thoughts are now that you’ve been on this planet for a while before remembering that hey, that _is_ your friend(or soon to be friend! you hope) and she probably needs a little help.

You crawl over her, more than ready to do CPR and mouth to mouth and all that good shit(hoping your rescue attempts go better than they did with Diemen—but how hard could it be, really?).

Just as you straddle her sinewy abs, you get what is indisputably the grossest loogie hawked right into your wide open eyes.

You don’t even have time to flail yourself off of her before being unceremoniously pinned to the ground. Try as you might, you can’t even wipe the spit out of your eyes—oh, it’s getting in your _mouth_ , gross gross _gross_. Your arms are being held down by a rather painful viselike grip. “What’s going on?” You mumble, blind and petrified.

A soft laugh rumbles through whoever tackled you so mercilessly, and as they wipe the goop off of your face, their face comes into focus.

Oh.

 _Skylla_.

“I should be asking _you_ what’s going on,” she chuckles, shaking that weird green goo off of her hand before wiping at your face again. “I fall asleep in my ‘coon one minute, and I’m being tackled by a tiny alien the next!” Her wet hair frames her face like a curly halo, slowly dripping that viscous slime. “What’s the big idea anyway?”

You can’t help but be stunned into silence by how close she is to you. And the fact that she’s naked and dripping wet. The fact that she’s naked, definitely, even if she’s smeared in radioactive looking gunk. In fact, she made it look attractive. Was that a weird thing to think?

Probably.

With her naked, pinning you to the floor?

Definitely.

You can’t manage a single word, trying to keep your gaze to her eyes but ultimately failing. Stuttering and blushing, you turn to face the wall. “Can…” You take a deep breath, asking a question that you both wished she would and wouldn’t comply with. “ _Can you please get off of me please._ ”

“Oh!” She immediately sits up, putting painful pressure on your arms for just a moment to push herself into a kneeling position. “Gosh, I’m terribly sorry ‘bout that.” Skylla runs a clawed hand through her curly hair, face turning a shade similar to that of the shirt she’d worn the previous day.

“Hope I didn’t make you too uncomfortable, honest.” She laughs. “I’m not tryin’ ta woo you or anythin’.” You keep your mouth shut, biting back a clever remark about how it was far too late for that. “But really, what was that all about?” You get whipped in the face with her hair as she looks around, scanning the area for any visible dangers. “There a fire or somethin’?”

“No, I just...” You take a moment to think, rubbing the back of your head as you sit up as well. Damn, that tackle _hurt_ . “I just... _Wait_.” Brows furrowed, you look her up and down. She doesn’t appear to be weak or in any pain despite having been drowned for who knows how long. “How the fuck are you alive?”

“Huh?” Her face scrunches up in confusion. “What on Alternia d’you mean?”

“You!” Sputtering, you flail your arms for a moment. “You were inhaling this, this _whatever_ it is for hours!” You scrape some of the green gunk off of your shirt, gesturing to it emphatically. “ _That’s_ what I mean!”

“You don’t know what sopor is?” Skylla laughs.

Her flippant attitude is extremely embarrassing to say the least. “No!” Your face turns bright red and you find yourself subconsciously clenching your fists, more out of humiliation than anger.  But before you can continue she interrupts, holding up a placating hand.

“Easy now, you look more chagrined ’n a clown without ‘er face paint.” Skylla watches you for a moment as if waiting for you to relax, then continues. “I keep forgettin’ you’re an alien an’ all, y’see?” She spreads her hands in a self deprecating fashion. You nod slowly, really just waiting for an explanation so your heart will stop racing.

“Sopor slime, uh..” She grasps for the right words. “It keeps the nightmares at bay, helps us kick back a lil’ and sleep easy. Well, _easier_.”

“I don’t find the idea of drowning in snot very relaxing,” You mumble, giving her a doubtful look.

“Drowning?” Skylla appears perplexed for a moment, before almost spitting out her omnipresent mouth twig in surprise. “Wait, you thought I was _drowning?_ ”

Your face is hotter than the godforsaken sun on this godforsaken planet by now—this is honestly the most mortifying situation you’ve ever been in(and you’ve absolutely murdered a troll while trying to save his life after spitting half-chewed hotdog down his throat, so that’s really saying something).

Your answer (or lack thereof) was enough to set her into hysterics. She attempts to give you an apologetic look, feeling bad for finding it so funny, but instead falls over in more laughter. You wait for her to get over it, trying to ignore how stupid you were in favor of thinking about how you’re going to get all this slime out of your clothes.

Skylla sets a large warm hand on your shoulder, still shaking a little with the aftershocks of her giggling fit. “Hey, don’t sweat it, alright? If anything, I guess now I know how much you care about me!” She pats you on the back, giving you a good natured smile. “It’s nice to have a pal who’s got your back…”

Her expression turns somber for a moment before disappearing. Her happiness doesn’t quite come all the way back, and you guess she must be thinking about Lady. Frowning, you reach a hand out to comfort Skylla, but she gently pushes it down, head turned to the side.

“Lets…” She takes a deep breath as if steeling herself, then turns around and gives you a smile that’s more forced than anything else. “Let’s get washed up, yeah?”

You nod slowly, putting as much concern in your expression as possible. You don’t really know what to say, but want to express your care for her in some way that wouldn’t be rebuffed.

Skylla gets to her feet, grabbing your hand and pulling you up as well.

“I’ll be fine,” she assures you.

She doesn’t sound very sure.


	3. Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Bodies cleaned and misunderstandings cleared, the two of you set to packing.

Your stomach has been bothering you, rumbling periodically as if it’s reminding you that eating is a thing you probably need to do to survive. Ignoring it was easy at first, but you’re sure Skylla has heard it with her weird looking ears and all. You think you’ve even caught her chuckling, but she’s awfully good at a poker face when she needs to be.

“Hey,” you give her a not-so-subtle nudge, wringing water out of your de-slimed clothes. “You think we could get some breakfast going?”

Without missing a beat or even giving you a simple glance of acknowledgement, she replies. “Nope, we need to finish packing. Or start packing really, since we’re just washing out your clothes now.” She sounds so matter of fact that you’re about to just shut your mouth and get back to work, but a sudden pat on your shoulder startles you out of it. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten all the mess you caused this morning already, ya dope.”

You roll your eyes. “Fair point, but!” You stare her in the eye, dropping your shirt to cross you arms in your best attempt at a serious pose. “But. All that work we did cleaning up that gunk off the floor does merit a little treat, doesn’t it?”

Skylla raises a brow, smiling. “Nice try, but no. I make a point of always finishing all the work that needs to be done before eating a single bite.” She pauses for a moment. “Of course, I could never really afford too much so the work was more of a distraction from the hunger than anything else.”

“So you’re putting me through what you go through,” You answer in a deadpan voice.

“Hey, you said it, not me.” She begins to whistle before jogging outside to hang your pants on a clothesline in her yard, effectively cutting off any clever remarks you might have.

You couldn’t come up with anything witty enough anyway. Hearing her talk so calmly of all the hardships a lowblood must face is jarring, to say the least. If you didn’t know any better you’d think she’d just lied down and admitted defeat, but no. Skylla was a fighter if you’d ever seen one, which is what really got her to accept your ludicrous proposition you suppose.

Maybe you’d literally get to see her fight.

God knows  _ you _ wouldn’t be the one to run head on into a bunch of bandits with their fantastical looking guns. The mere idea put a bad taste in your mouth, worse than the sopor you’d managed to swallow during your earlier shenanigans.

Actually, the sopor didn’t really taste all that bad. You couldn’t imagine inhaling it nightly by any means, but you were surprised that trolls didn’t just eat the stuff. It didn’t hold a candle to the idea of warm pancakes—er,  _ grubcakes _ though.

“Hurry up, will ya?” You look up to see Skylla chewing on her mouth twig absentmindedly, casually leant up against the doorframe. Man, add a stetson and she’d be the picture of a stereotypical western. But the twin moons frame her curly hair better than an hat ever could, reflecting light that shines off of her newly polished horns. She was an absolute  _ beauty _ .

She snaps her fingers impatiently, standing back up and walking over. “C’mon, we don’t have all night.” Snatching the shirt from your hands, she whips it just inches from your face, eliciting a rather undignified yelp from you. All Skylla does is laugh, pulling back her arm and chucking the shirt in the general direction of the clothesline.

You just shake your head and get up, grabbing the water buckets on your way. “I hope you know that if I wasn’t as nice a person as I truly am, all this water was be pouring down your back right about now,” you sigh.

“Sure it ain’t ‘cause a your puny height?” Any chance to reply is interrupted by another one of your yelps, this time caused by a harsh noogie to your head. You jerk and the water sloshes over the edge of the buckets, wetting the floor.

“Easy now,” she murmurs, quick to steady you. “We just got the floor all cleaned up, didn’t we? No need to dirty it again—I may live out in the boonies but damn if I’m not gonna keep this hive civilized.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” You stand on tiptoe and puff out your chest, mocking her size and putting on a faux Southern accent. “Ahm Sky- _ luh _ Kree-juh an’ I may very well be the scum a’ socie- _ tee _ but ah  _ swear _ ah got loads more propriety on  _ this _ property than those scrawny blues!” You set down the buckets to flex your scrawny, practically non-existent biceps for added effect.

Skylla makes a effort not to laugh, failing horribly. “Wow,” she wipes a tear from the corner of her eye. “Is that really how you see me?”

“I mean…” You reach up to scratch the back of your neck. “Yeah, pretty much? Is that a bad thing?”

“I don't know about you, but  _ I _ wouldn't be calling the troll who saved your sorry sunburnt ass societal scum.” Her tone is jokingly challenging, and you can see her struggle not to laugh at the unintentional alliteration.

Your cheeks flush darker as you retort. “Not that! I mean the... “ Wow, words really haven't been on your side lately. “The accent, the mannerisms, everything. It's cute.” You move your hands as you talk, looking down and trying to keep your smile from stretching too wide.

Your smile turns more nervous than embarrassed when you don't get an immediate reply. When you turn to look at Skylla, she is giving you a suspicious look.

“You're not just doing this so you can sidle on up into one of my quadrants, are you?” She taps a foot testily, arms crossed over her chest. “Offering to help get my lusus back and all, I mean.”

“One of your what?” You give her an utterly confused look. “....No? I, I don't think so at least,” you mumble.

“You don't know what the quadrants are?” She squints at you, expression alternating between suspicion and incredulousness. “Seriously? You're not trying to pull a fast one on me?”

“I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about.” You look her in the eye, saying the only thing you can say with certainty in this conversation. “Unless you're talking about splitting things in four, which I sorta doubt.”

“Somewhat..” She heaves a sigh. “This is going to take a while. Come on,” she beckons you over, gesturing for you to grab the buckets on the way. “I'll explain while we work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> obligatory bucket joke.
> 
> i write skylla as more suspicious bc she associates player/reader with the experience of losing lady so dont get on my back about being ooc pretty please
> 
> also sorry this is late ive been busy and like half this chapter was written on mobile so there might be some goofs haha...


	4. All Talk, No Walk

“So you thought I was trying to seduce you or something?”

The question hangs in the air for a moment, neither of you meeting each other's eyes. You both begin to speak again, simultaneously.

“Not that I really  _ could _ seduce you-”

“Not that you're all too charismatic, although you could certainly  _ try _ -”

Her wide yellow eyes meet yours and you stare at each other for a moment in stunned silence before giggling. Your cheeks are flushed, but your face begins to fall a little as you processed what exactly she said. You were fully aware of your social ineptitude, but hearing her point it out so bluntly still stung a bit.

If you weren’t so busy focusing on just how red your face was turning--how could you have said that so bluntly?--you’d have noticed that Skylla was blushing too. In fact it’s probably better that you didn’t notice because you still hadn’t gotten over how fascinating it was that the trolls all had different blood colors. You’d have stared, which wouldn’t really help the situation at all.

Did that sound creepy? Probably. At least you weren’t as bad as that girl who tried to get you to decapitate someone. Yeesh.

“I mean-”

“Sorry if-”

Both of you start again, immediately breaking off to let the other get their say in.

“Sorry, you go on,” you both burst out, embarrassed.

“I-” you start, unable to hold back a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. “I'm sorry, you go on ahead.

“No you,” Skylla retorts, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. “An’ I mean it, I'm gonna zip these lips up nice and tight so you get what's flusterin’ you off your pretty lil’ chest.” She gives you a calm look, as if she's ready to wait for hours on end like one of those stupid teachers who make you answer their stupid questions.

But from Skylla, you can somewhat stand it.

(Even if you know she's easier to persuade than she likes to play it off.)

“I, I’m just saying, I know I'm not  _ super _ charismatic or whatever but… But I could… Um.”

“Seduce me?” She finishes your sentence for you, obviously unable to keep her mouth shut when you're being such an embarrassing wreck of a person. You don't know if you should feel grateful or not.

“Yeah!” You yelp, as if you're trying prove yourself to her, indignantly. Dumbass. “I mean,” you hesitate for a moment. “If you want me to?”

“Whoa there,” she holds up her hands. “I never said I wanted you mackin’ on me.”

Of course. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Dummy. Idiot.

Her face twists into a weird mix of pity and embarrassment. Secondhand embarrassment? You can't tell.

“After all, we got work to do, remember?”

Of course. She was only keeping you around because you'd promised to help her, nothing more. Your relationship was strictly professional. But when Lady is done and saved(if that's even possible for a measly human and a peasant--or equivalent at the least), then what?

“But afterwards...” She smirks, showing off just a little bit of teeth. “Well. We’ll just have to see, now won’t we?” Your jaw absolutely fucking drops, but before you can pick it up she chuckles and claps you on the shoulder. “Work, remember?” Skylla rolls her eyes, no doubt finding your emotional theatrics a source of endless amusement. “ _ Maybe I shouldn’t have even mentioned it _ ,” she mumbles to herself, loud enough for you to hear.

“Hey!” You interject, making what you really hope can’t be mistaken for a pout. “I can concentrate.” You give her a stern(as much as you can muster at least) look. “You… You weren’t even going to try. Originally.”

Her expression softens and she gives you a sympathetic little smile. “....Yeah. Thanks for...getting me back to.. Well, back to smiling.” She ruffles your hair with a gloved hand and you grunt in surprise, tripping over the legs of the ridiculously long pants she’d lent you while yours laid out in the blistering sun.  _ God, would they burn out there? _ You hoped not.

“It’s no problem,” you brush yourself off, getting up. “I have more than enough smiles to spare!” You demonstrate, giving her a thumbs up. She reflects the gesture before turning her head to check a clock hanging on the wall. Thank God it was analog, you wouldn’t be able to read it if it was digital. Dumbass alien symbols.

“Alrighty, we can gather up the last of our things and then we’ll be ready to scoot on out, yeah?” She looks to you, not for confirmation but to make sure you’re paying attention. You nod quickly, watching the purple twig she’s chewing on bob up and down in her mouth.

What you scrounge up isn’t anything special. You don’t know if that’s because Skylla is poor or because she doesn’t think the two of you need to bring all that much. Hopefully the latter--ideally you’ll be in and out before the bandits can even blink. But they looked pretty strong… You don’t know what you’ll do if they catch you.

It seems Skylla has noticed your change in mood, so she gives you a pat on the back. “You’ll be alright, don’tcha worry.” She walks around and leans down to watch you at eye level. “You  _ do _ have faith in my brawlin’ skills, right?” Up close you can see that her pupils are rimmed in bronze that steadily fades out into the gold of her scleras. “Don’t tell me you think I’m a weenie.”

You hesitantly point out that it wasn’t very hard to hold her back, without exaggerating too much(you think). 

“Yeah, you sure have some strong arms for a scrawny little bugger!” She beams at you and you can’t help but crack a smile at the fact that she’s gotten used to trading jabs with you. “But that just means you can carry your fair share a’ gear, don’t it?”

Skylla rolls her eyes when you let out a dramatic groan. “Come on, you were just talking about how we barely grabbed anything.” She grabs your wrist, tugging you up and speaking in a somewhat teasing tone. “If you hurry up we might even have time to grab something to eat. You’d like that, huh?”

You nod, albeit somewhat reluctantly.”Guess there’s no chance of eating until we leave?”

She laughs, tossing you a pack. “Nope! Well, not unless you want whatever I scrounged up for us to eat  _ after _ we left, hint hint.”

You contemplate if it’d be worth it to make a joke about just sitting there and eating snacks from the bag she’d literally just given you. The train of through doesn’t go very far though, when Skylla adds what may be a bribe but will definitely work on you.

“I know a place in town that sells pretty decent flattened grubcakes.”

“.....Crepes?”

“Huh?” She puts a hand on her hip, head tilted in confusion.

“Flattened gru…. Ah forget it.” You suppose you’ll find out sooner or later what she’s talking about. If it’s  _ not _ some squashed bugs you figure it’ll be fine, you’d never considered yourself too picky—at least not by Earth standards. “Let’s head.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!”

She put on a wide-brimmed hat with snaps that her horns fit into. That’s pretty neat, you think, although the hat she gives you has horn holes as well.

You take it and put it on, frowning when it slips down. Pushing it back up, you give Skylla an inquisitive look. “Do I really need this? I already have a hat, remember?” Your clothes from Cirava had dried off and you’d gladly put them back on, relieved they seemed none worse for wear from their time out in the sun.

She snorts. “That lil ol thing ain't gonna protect ya from a single sunbeam. Ya need somethin’ sturdy like this.” Knocking the brim of her hat with a hand, she smiles. “ ‘Sides, we match now! A little. Can’t say I could pull off your style.”

You hastily explain that the clothes were from a friend. Hopefully Cirava wouldn’t be wanting them back anytime soon, as your old clothes look like shit and you don’t have new ones. They were probably back at Cirava’s hive anyway, and you’d be genuinely surprised if they hadn’t thrown them out as they were covered in at least but not limited to: blood(sadly not all your own), sewage, grass and so on.

Maybe you can get a new outfit, you think as you walk out into the sweltering heat, when all of this is over with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh? a new chapter?  
> happy halloween folks!!  
> do not fear, i am still working hard on this! i have just been incredibly busy and hit a bit of a mental snag with this chapter so it took me a while to sort out as i had dropped writing this for quite a bit


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